"Reading about someone in a book just like me or my brother makes me so happy. I hope it lets more people understand different disabilities so people accept us more."
My daughter had always loved reading, but when she progressed from young children's picture books to chapter books she struggled to find an author or a genre she really connected with. But then we discovered inclusive books: fictional stories that include characters with a range of different abilities that immediately made her feel seen and valued. Over the years as an autistic young lady, she has collected an entire bookshelf of books with characters with varying disabilities and I'm very grateful for her help and support in writing this blog.
I've grouped the books into different disabilities, but it's well worth reading every one of them to broaden your mind, become more inclusive, and enjoy getting to know some wonderful fictional characters as their live their lives and have adventures.
Eating Disorders
- Taking Up Space by Alyson Gerber
Autism
- Can You See Me?, Do You Know Me?, Ways to Be Me, and All the Pieces of Me by Libby Scott and Rebecca Westcott
- Finding My Voice and Frankie's World, graphic novels by Aoife Dooley
- The Asparagus Bunch by Jessica Scott-Whyte
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
- The Boy Made of Bricks, an adult novel by Keith Stuart
- Show Us Who You Are by Ellie McNicoll
- The State of Grace, an adult novel by Rachael Lucas
- I'm Not Upside Down, I'm Downside Up, a children's book about Pathological Demand Avoidance by Danielle Jata-Hall and Harry Thompson
Cerebral Palsy
- Out of My Mind, Out of My Heart, and Out of My Dreams by Sharon M. Draper
- The Amazing Edie Eckhart and The Amazing Edie Eckhart: The Big Trip by Rosie Jones
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
- When I See Blue and Because We Are Bad by Lily Bailey
- Braver by Deborah Jenkins
- Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
- OCDaniel by Wesley King
- The Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson
Sensory Processing Disorder
- Tune It Out by Jamie Sumner
- Not If I Can Help It by Carolyn Mackler
Wheelchair Use
- Air by Monica M. Roe
- Push Girl by Chelsie Hill
- How We Roll (also includes alopecia) by Natasha Friend
- Braced (scoliosis) by Alyson Gerber
Facial Disfigurement
- Wonder and Auggie & Me by R. J. Palacio
Selective Mutism
- Being Miss Nobody by Tamsin Winter
- Call Me Lion by Camilla Chester
Stutter
- The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh and The Funniest Boy in the World by Helen Rutter
ADHD
- Focussed by Alyson Gerber
- The Boy with the Butterfly Mind by Victoria Williamson
- Tornado Brain by Cat Patrick
Down Syndrome
- For the Love of Oscar and Don't Be Sorry by Sarah Roberts
Of course this isn't and never could be an exhaustive list, but we are constantly on the lookout for other inclusive books featuring characters my daughter can relate to. I'd love to hear your recommendations, and perhaps one day my daughter might even write her own book, too!
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